Wireless communication networks, such as Multicast/Broadcast Single-Frequency Network (MBSFN) may use an IP datacast service to provide the same content to many mobile stations simultaneously. Content may be transmitted from multiple base stations from multiple geographically dispersed cells at a synchronized timing. Thus, a mobile station located in any one of the multiple cells may operate as though it receives content from one large MBSFN cell.
Operationally, providing one large MBSFN cell may provide improved network performance. For example, MBSFN transmissions received by mobiles stations within the MBSFN cell may have high signal strength, offering better-received signals that may be more easily decoded. Further, multiple transmissions may provide diversity of signal gains, and reduce inter-cell interference. Other benefits may include reducing or eliminating the need to hand-off transmission from multiple base stations as a mobile station travels across multiple cells.
Time-synchronized transmission, however, may pose operational challenges as well. Specifically, ensuring each base station receives the same input corresponding to identical content may be difficult. Because each base station is geographically dispersed within the MBSFN cell, content received from a distribution system may arrive at each base station at different times. Thus, ensuring that each base station contributing to the MBSFN transmission has the same content at a given time may be problematic. Further, multicast and broadcast service transmission (MBS) packets may get lost during the transmission between the distribution system and any one of the base stations. To maintain time-synchronized transmission, MBS packet losses should be detectable, particularly in cases of consecutive MBS packet losses. Therefore, it may be desirable for some applications to overcome MBS packet transmission latency, detect packet loss, and/or resume MBSFN transmission even in cases of consecutive MBS packet losses.